Seat runners - trial fit

My seat runners arrived in the post; 

I thought they would need adjusting but I lucked out - perfect length, 330mm, and the adjuster bar just needed a little gentle bending to change from 290mm width as sold, to the 300mm width of the seats:

These were from Ebay/KDR Seating, now I have them in my hands they look identical to the CBS ones:

Of course - I don't have the right bolts to fit it to the car - I need some M8 40mm (possibly 30mm?) Cap head screws...

Nearside front suspension & brake calliper

I need to get the car back on its wheels so I can shift everything over to the other side of the garage and fit the offside panels;

The front suspension goes back on & torqued up for (hopefully) the final time, I've installed most of the IVA covers, around the panel openings & especially those on the track rods so I don't have to dismantle everything again. The brake line is twisted to ensure it doesn't touch anything as the steering moves from lock to lock:

Calliper installed, bleed nipple uppermost, bolted with lock washers and threadlock & connected up to the copper brake lines inside the car:

Nearside is all set! Shes back on her wheels & looking much more like a car now:

(I still have to sort out the tracking - that can wait until much later)

Side Panel - nearside on

This should have been plain sailing - I ran into an unexpected issue - the masking tape I had put on the chassis tubes for marking out some weeks ago had permanently attached itself and proved difficult to remove. White spirit easily desolves the glue however the masking tape is waterproof so needed scraping off first before the white spirit could clean up.

The planned rivets worked well for holding everything in place:

This row on the underside just needed the ratchet strap to hold things in place long enough to rivet, then the rivets hold the side in tight for the bond to go off. Its not very clear from this picture - but I put a line of 5 rivets on the left hand edge of the floor which holds the outside (right) edge tight against the glued chassis tube:

A little heath robinson to hold the panel against the chassis tubes, and the rear quarter installed over the top; taking care to only place rivets where they will be hidden by the wheel arch later:

Next step is to put the front suspension back on & install the front brakes, then I can move the car over to the other side of the garage and repeat the exercise on the offside.

Side panel - nearside prep

Making a start on the side panels; nearside first.

The suspension came off cleanly, I removed the shock then took off the wishbone and upright assembly  as a single unit. Its not too ungainly so no need to split the balljoints.

The panel fits fine but needs a little pressure to sit tight against the engine bay bottom chassis tubes. I double checked the suspension hole clearance by offering the wishbones back again. Then took some time to think through and made some decisions about fixing the panel.

Right now its just offered in place. The factory uses bond/glue on its own, I have seen blogs which rivet every 2-3".  I'm going to rely mostly on bond but also some strategic rivets which will also help hold everything in place  while the bond goes off:

    4x rivets on the front vertical edge

    2x rivets on the rear edge vertical behind the rear wheel

    4x rivets on the underside floor parts next to the engine

    3x rivets on the engine bay top tube

The plan is to install the suspension hole edging, glue up the chassis rails, hold in place with ratchet straps then use rivets to hold everything firm while the glue goes off.

Not much more progress - off to watch 007 'Skyfall' at the cinema this evening. Hopefully I can get at least the nearside on this weekend.

Interior - seats and tunnel top

Seats

I picked up the seats from GBS. Not currently fixed in because I want to try and find some seat rails which lock on both sides. The fixing centres on the GT seats are 300mm wide and 330mm front/back. Most runners seem to be too short so I may have to do some adjustment.

Nice seats though, ordered with red piping to match the nosecone & mudguards, finally I can sit in the car and get a feel for the space;

Tunnel top panels

Fitting the tunnel top panels, these took a little work - I decided to fix them in place with dome head bolts & 4x rivnuts per panel at each corner. I should have installed the rivnuts before the carpet really since with the extra thickness they didn't want to 'pull' correctly onto the tunnel panels & I wasted a couple in the process.

I also adjusted the gaps between the tunnel tops to have about 1mm gap which should allow the vinyl covering space to wrap over the edge of each one and still leave me with a good fit.

The brown cardboard is a mockup for a T7 heater. It will fit in the space provided I find an alternate location for the fuse box and route the wiring slightly differently. The heater will be recirculating - taking its air in from the cockpit - which I cant see as an issue since its all open anyway:

Cooling overflow

A little adjustment on the bottom of the overflow tank allows it to sit on the engine mounting plate & 3x rivnuts+thread lock to hold it in place:

Completing the cooling overflow plumbing.
I routed the main overflow pipe as far away from the exhaust manifold as possible.
I think the final loop may be a little short - ideally it should be dumping any overflow water direct to the road whereas its current location will just fill the side panel floor (when its installed) - on the other hand, nothing should be coming out of it.

Update - I re routed the true overflow later in the build, back past the gearbox and down onto the road so any overflow doesn't merely fill the engine space floor with coolant.

Cooling syphon/overflow tank

A little prep before work;

The syphon tank has a long internal tube - connected to the overflow pipe on the thermostat housing, and a short one for true overflow. It looks like its designed with the long & short outlets to indicate this - however - belt & braces - I also tested it.

Fill with water, then carefully suck each pipe.

• The outlet which connects to the thermostat housing draws up water when sucked. This is the long pipe inside the tank and will allow overflow coolant to be pulled back into the system.

• The other just bubbles & draws up air. This is the true overflow to be diverted onto the road.

Duly marked so I don't forget which connects into the cooling system:

Cooling system

At last, allowed to do a little work on the car! :)
Still cannot lift anything heavy or stretch though

The cooling system seems a good place to continue - i.e. a good visible progress return for a the effort to get me back in the build mindset.

Top tube

Thermostat housing -> GBS water rail -> Stainless extension tube -> Radiator
Note to self - face the top tube front clips downwards or underneath inboard for access when the nose is on.

Bottom tube

Radiator -> Stainless tube -> Water pump

One of the reasons I bought GBS over other marques was the simple cooling system - it just doesn't need to be more complex than this!

Support bracket

Detail of the front end, showing the 2x cable ties on the middle of the bottom tube which support it from the steering rack brackets:

It all went together easily, just a little care marking up and cutting the hoses, then push together & jubilee clip. The support bracket on the bottom stainless tube took longest, it just needed bending  into the right shape, touching up with black hammerite, and cable tie base mounted.

Heater Take offs

No take offs for the heater at this point - the heater is planning only & will only go in after IVA (I think?) When I do I'm intending to take the hot water feed from under the elbow at the thermostat, and send the cold return back into the top or side of the elbow at the water pump.


The only remaining parts are the overflow pipe & tank. I need to consult before I move ahead with them & identify the correct routing.

Time passes...

Thorin says "Hurry up!".
(The Hobbit)

ECU Map Switch

The Emerald ECU allows up to three maps which can be switched on the fly. My intention is to have two active maps:

1. Economy - Initially the GBS standard map, then a tuned one for IVA & MOT
2. Performance - Tuned map for performance

I therefore need a simple latching switch to select between them.

Option 1

In the same style as the other dashboard switches, an aluminium billet pushbutton, this lights up blue when depressed and doesn't have any logo/symbol on it. Just found out these are called:
'Savage Switches' and slightly better prices on Ebay than CBS, options with 'Boost' lettering which may work: <-- This - parts ordered with extra blue leds for a consistent look on all switches

Option 2

Guarded toggle, potentially with a led indicator. Possibly a little over the top:

Heater planning

I'm not able (or allowed) to do any work on the car, so in the meantime spent some time looking into heater options. I still don't know if the heater will be fitted, and probably anyway post IVA - but no harm in a little window shopping and planning.

There is a lot of comment about the heater not being necessary, and/or heaters are for wimps etc... I just have this memory of bombing about in the Spitfire and my right hand getting freezing cold (even with a heater), and then later when I'd worked out how to bleed the system - at least my bottom half being warm!

My plan is two permanent heater outlets into the footwells & two outboard - just under the dash as hand warmers.

Heater Matrix/Fan

The obvious place for the heater to sit is behind the central console area on the tunnel, it even looks possible to lower a little but I really need to mockup the scuttle area to finalise this. I think a recirculating setup will be fine; i.e. no external feed of fresh air into the unit - there should be no lack of fresh air in an open car.

Still not decided on top opening as well as sides - or the pictured version which has built in bottom vents vs. pipes and separate vents - it depends how much height is available under the scuttle to get de-mist vents in place.

I'm not going to worry about diverting air to demist vents vs inside the car, it will be a basic setup where all outlets produce hot air permanently when the fan is running and hot water valve open - need to keep things simple.

Controls

One more latching button on the central console area for the fan on/off which I can get in the same style as the other switches. The hot water on/off isn't so easy to make look nice - choices between a knob or simple push/pull - I'm favouring a push pull currently - understated/simple - pull for heat.

Water Feed

I think a direct feed from the silicon hose next to the thermostat using a bolt on take off & the cold feed going back into the silicon hose at the water pump. This means I will only get a full hot water feed when the thermostat opens, and before that just the trickle/circulation flow through the thermostat hole. The advantage is I can retro fit the plumbing at any time with minimal changes.

The water pipes can route from the engine bay, along the top of the bellhousing/gearbox area to the matrix - it should be reasonably tidy, i.e. no need to make holes in the firewall/bulkhead.

Heater parts seem to be stuck between 5/8" & 1/2" standards, variously sold in mm and inches: It seems  the best option is to run everything in 5/8" (15-16mm) and adjust down to 1/2" (12-13mm) just before the matrix.

Parts

T7 Design

• Heater Matrix/Fan assembly
• Heater matrix guard
• 2" Heater vents circular & mounting brackets
• Heater de-mist vents & 2" adaptors
• 2" Heater air ducting
• 15mm water hose
• 15mm jubilee clips
• 15mm water valve

Car Builder Solutions

• Heat push/pull cable
• 2x water pipe Take offs (-or- 1 takeoff & 1 tee for bottom pipe)
• 2x 15mm to 12mm adaptors (5/8" - 1/2")

Ebay

• Fan switch (Savage Switch)
• Water valve

I'm going to try and keep the heater area clear during assembly, to at least leave the option open - i.e. avoid placing the fusebox in its standard location.

Pause for a while...

Everything is on hold for a couple of weeks while I convalesce after a minor Operation.  (Bother)

The car so far:

and next job ready to fit; the spare wheel holder;

I couldn't find M12x1.5 thread rod to for Ford wheel nuts, but turns out Nissan wheel nuts are 1.25 pitch thread & that rod is available. So: Stainless to cut down & re-enforce the inside of the back panel, M12x1.25 rod for retaining struts, locking wheel nuts and nylocs:

For the next couple of weeks I'm allowed to read/research and order parts, but no crawling around the motor or actually doing anything until at least 19th October, and not doing anything heavy until early November.


drums fingers....

You wait.
Time passes...
You wait.
Time passes...
Thorin sits down & starts singing about gold.
The Hobbit © Melbourne House 1982 - C64 Version